MacroH2A1 knockdown effects on the Peg3 imprinted domain
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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

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Published on: August 24, 2013
Jung Ha Choo1, Jeong Do Kim, Joomyeong Kim
1Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA. jhchoo@lsu.edu
Background:
MacroH2A1 is a histone variant that is closely associated with the repressed regions of chromosomes. A recent study revealed that this histone variant is highly enriched in the inactive alleles of Imprinting Control Regions (ICRs).
Results:
The current study investigates the potential roles of macroH2A1 in genomic imprinting by lowering the cellular levels of the macroH2A1 protein. RNAi-based macroH2A1 knockdown experiments in Neuro2A cells changed the expression levels of a subset of genes, including Peg3 and Usp29 of the Peg3 domain. The expression of these genes was down-regulated, rather than up-regulated, in response to reduced protein levels of the potential repressor macroH2A1. This down-regulation was not accompanied with changes in the DNA methylation status of the Peg3 domain.
Conclusion:
MacroH2A1 may not function as a transcriptional repressor for this domain, but that macroH2A1 may participate in the heterochromatin formation with functions yet to be discovered.
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